What Are You Guys Doing?
What the hell are you guys doing? The grand hall in the resort's basement. The gathering place for everyone involved in the current Inferno operation. It was a total madhouse now, a microcosm of war.
"Behind us! They're coming from behind!"
"They're coming from the front too! Demon beasts everywhere!"
The combat teams that had assembled in the hall following the announcement were ambushed by demon beasts. Spewing unknown black liquids, the grotesque creatures poured out from the floor, walls, and ceiling.
What the hell was going on? Demon beasts right in the middle of the resort? There was no way the ones from the volcanic zone had made it this far. Most of the volcanic area had already been purified. The only unpurified spots left were Kargas Volcano and the nearby gas fields. And those were at least dozens of kilometers away from the resort. No way they could've gotten here undetected. Plus, the numbers didn't add up. There were more demon beasts here now than all the ones they'd taken down during the entire operation combined. It was impossible for this many to pop up out of nowhere. Unless someone had summoned them on purpose.
[Roooaaar!!]
[Grrr, squeeeek.]
The demon beasts howled as they surged forward.
Boom!
"Everyone, stay calm! Form up!"
Ricardo from A-Team. He unleashed a punch wrapped in golden energy, blowing a demon beast's head clean off.
"Assemble in the center! Non-combatants and wounded to the inside! Circular formation!"
Beowulf bellowed. He immediately grabbed a demon beast by the throat and ripped it out. His greatsword was back in the hotel room. No one had anticipated an attack like this. He was fighting barehanded out of necessity.
"Argh! M-my arm!"
"Goddammit! I didn't even grab my weapon!"
A few hunters rolled on the floor. Juwon flashed in like lightning, sending the demon beasts lunging at them flying.
There were superhumans among the hunters, but far fewer than the heroes. Hunters just needed to be good at killing monsters—wielding weapons and gear effectively was enough to make one, without relying on raw combat prowess. In other words, the hunters without their equipment here were no better than civilians.
"Everyone to the center! Non-combatants inside!"
At Ricardo's command, the combat teams clustered together. Hunters, priests, and the wounded moved inward, surrounded by a formation of superhumans.
"Goddess! Judge these filthy abominations!"
Bang!Boom!
Ryan's mana blasts vaporized three or four demon beasts in an instant.
[Keeeaak!!]
A demon beast that had sneaked up on Ryan bit into his ankle.
"Argh! You blasphemous wretch!"
Then it started dragging him away. His body scraped across the floor with a screech.
Slash!
Serena's sword cleaved the demon beast's neck in a flash. Her blade glowed white, infused with mana. Serena's grandmother was from the Crossfield family. Even without the name, Crossfield blood ran through her veins. Her abilities were no different from the direct line.
"Ugh... Thank you, brother!"
"Alice! Take him back! Inside the circle!"
"Y-yes!"
"Spirit summoner!"
Kairon appeared before Alice, who was supporting Ryan—trident in hand, covered in demon beast guts from his fierce fighting.
"Summon the strongest water spirit you can! Right now!!"
"W-water spirit? The strongest one?"
"Yes! Hurry!!"
Urged by the impatient Kairon, Alice clasped her hands and prayed. She poured every ounce of her mana in. She felt a crushing fatigue as her mana drained away rapidly.
And soon—
Splash!
[Groooaaar!!]
Countless streams of water gushed from Alice's wrists, forming the shape of a massive crocodile. The water spirit, Carnosucus. Its yellow eyes gleamed fiercely.
Boom!
The crocodile crushed the demon beasts under its enormous bulk. Chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere. Kairon tossed his helmet aside and climbed onto the crocodile's back.
"Let's go!"
[Rooaaar!]
Surprisingly, Carnosucus accepted Kairon. At the same time, his trident fused with the spirit's water, growing even larger.
Boooom!!!
The crocodile shot forward at tremendous speed. The demon beasts it collided with were shredded, and Kairon swung his massive trident in a wide arc.
Booom!!
Demon beasts on one side were obliterated. Overwhelming power.
"Whew, as expected, my fish friend had plenty left in the tank."
Beowulf said that as he kicked a demon beast away. Then he turned to Ricardo, who was holding the defensive line nearby.
"A-Team leader. I've got a rough idea of what's going on here. You?"
"Same here. Can't think of anything else that fits."
The two commanders were in perfect agreement.
The announcement to gather everyone in the grand hall. The sudden ambush and comms blackout. Only one conclusion could be drawn from that.
'Betrayal.'
The administration had betrayed them. Whether it was the whole organization or not didn't matter—that much was clear.
Ricardo thought to himself. He'd been watching the administration closely since arriving in the autonomous region, but there'd been no signs of betrayal. More importantly, they had no reason to turn on them. Why eliminate them now? Without his team, the Inferno operation would fail. What did they gain?
'A spy in the administration sabotaging the op? Or silencing us?'
Ricardo pondered as he smashed demon beasts.
Thud!Boom!
Scraaape!Bang!
In the midst of the fierce battle, one hero shouted.
"Send a support request to the administration or the guard force! Let the outside know!"
"We... can't get through! No signal at all!"
"What?!"
"Of course we tried! It's not working!"
No way comms were down already too. Internet had been fine from the hotel rooms just moments ago.
Beowulf scanned the surroundings and bit his lip. In this enclosed space, the demon beasts' numbers were multiplying exponentially. It was underground—yet they kept pouring in endlessly from who-knows-where.
'Rifts spawning nearby? But this is the city...'
He'd lived in the Piros Autonomous Region for decades, and rifts had never appeared in the urban area. Just months ago, this place barely had any. The volcanic zone made sense with the high-rank demon beasts, but city rifts didn't add up.
[Groooaaar—!]
Bang!Booom!
Thanks to the rampaging crocodile and Kairon up front, fewer beasts were heading toward the main group. A brief respite.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Ryan shouted, his ankle somewhat healed by his own recovery and the priests' help. Dazzling orbs of light formed on his raised arms.
"These blasphemous existences... begone!!"
The combat teams all turned at the massive mana surge.
And then—
Booooom!!!!
A colossal beam of light shot forward. It pulverized everything in its path.
Booooom!!!!Boom!
[Roooaaar!!!]
[Keeeaak!]
[Grraaaargh!!]
The beasts' screams rent the air amid firepower like divine wrath.
Rumblle!!Rumblle!!
Only charred ashes remained. The path of the light storm was left with acrid smoke and scorched floors.
The combat teams were stunned. The wall of demon beasts that had filled one side of the hall had evaporated, wall and all. The spot teeming with them moments ago was spotless.
"Hah."
Beowulf exhaled in amazement. Even Juwon, who usually teased Ryan as a firepower zealot, looked at him with awe.
But the moment of glory was fleeting.
"The rest... is up to you..."
Ryan, arms raised triumphantly, swayed like a leaf and collapsed.
"Mr. Ryan! Hang on! Mr. Ryan!!"
Alice shook his shoulders, but Ryan was out cold, snoring away.
Ryan's attack had been devastating. However.
Shhh
Shhhh
Hundreds of glowing eyes flickered back to life from the smoke and shadows. More demon beasts crawled out to fill the void Ryan had created.
"We kill 'em and more keep coming! Where the hell are they spawning from?!"
Juwon yelled, but no one answered. The gap from Ryan's barrage was refilled by surging black-liquid beasts in seconds.
Hope turned to despair in an instant.
"No way... that attack, and there's still this many left?"
"We're all gonna die here... The administration sacrificed us!"
Terror spread like a plague. Fighters lost their will, collapsing everywhere.
Crunch!
"Aaaagh!!"
A demon beast bit a hunter on the outer edge by the throat. Juwon kneed its jaw, forcing it to let go. The hunter thrashed, blood pouring from his neck. Priests rushed over, but it was too late.
First casualty. The shock rippled through the group.
"U-uaaaah!"
"Save me! We're all dead!!"
Panic gripped them. The defensive line was on the verge of breaking.
"Hold the formation!! Hold it!!"
"We'll die if we go out!! Hold formation!!"
They screamed themselves hoarse. But it had little effect.
Crunch!
Chomp!
From the first death, casualties mounted one by one. Beasts that breached the dense formation tore into flesh, craving blood.
Splat!
Juwon dashed around, plugging the gaps in the crumbling line. Amid the chaos, Ricardo narrowed his eyes and scanned the area.
'At this rate, we're wiped. Impossible for this many to spawn naturally. Even rifts don't produce this volume from one. There has to be something generating them!'
This defied logic. Such massive numbers were unprecedented.
'Where? Where the hell? Where are the rifts coming from?'
As Ricardo scanned, something caught his eye far off.
[Grrr.]
[Squeek.]
The far end of the grand hall. An especially dark corner. Demon beasts parted there, clearing a path to the sides. Some even bowed their heads. Eerie. Not their nature at all.
He sensed something off instinctively.
Boom!
Ricardo fired an energy wave straight at it. Golden energy streaked out, hitting and exploding.
The smoke cleared.
At the end of the shadowed path.
Step, step.
A cold sound like metal scraping the floor echoed. Something emerged.
"......A person?"
A humanoid figure clad head to toe in black armor. A helmet with flowing black mane. Like a knight in ebony plate. He voiced his doubt, but fell silent seeing frost form on the floor with each step.
Beowulf gripped a broken rebar from the floor and swallowed hard.
"......"
Ricardo activated his suit's mana detector, aiming at the knight.
Beep! Beeeeeep!
The device screamed, a red number flashing on the screen.
"......!"
The meaning was clear.
"High-rank demon beast!! That's what's been generating the rifts!! Everyone, take it down!!!"
At "high-rank," all eyes locked on it. Why was a volcanic high-rank here? Questions arose, but there was no time to ponder.
Outside the resort.
On a nearby hill overlooking the resort. Three figures in pitch-black robes watched the scene.
"Their resistance is fiercer than expected. Natural, since we herded superhumans from everywhere into one spot."
The black-robed man in front murmured lowly. Another beside him spoke anxiously.
"The biometric signals inside are dropping too slowly. The resort lockdown via the brainwashed director's authority will reach its limit soon."
"If this drags on, the administration or guard force will notice and intervene."
"How about using 'that'? Any longer, and it's disadvantageous."
The leader fell silent at his subordinates' words. The resort's basement was currently wrapped in a massive barrier. He'd used his ability to enclose the entire underground. You could enter from outside, but not escape—a one-way fortress. Ironclad from within, but vulnerable to external assault.
He pondered briefly, then spoke.
"I didn't want to use everything his lordship provided... but no choice. Proceed."
"Yes. Activating immediat—"
"Hey."
"......?!"
A voice from behind—far too calm and low.
The three robed figures whirled around. No one had been there moments ago. No one should have approached this close without tripping their detection.
A man stood there, covered in dust, breathing steadily.
His red eyes flicked from the resort to the robed men and back.
He tilted his head.
A killing intent washed over them like being vivisected.
Then his low voice rang out.
"What the hell are you guys doing?"